Manchester all-female four-piece PINS (Faith Vern, Anna Donigan, Lois Macdonald and Sophie Galpin) will be in town at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis
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Welwyn Garden City‚Äôs The Subways recently stopped by the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis (on April 23rd), touring in support of their self-titled 2015 album.

Pins

Manchester band Pins (stylized as PINS) opened up the show. The band consists of singer/guitarist Faith Holgate, guitarist Lois McDonald, bassist Anna Donigan, and drummer Sophie Galpin, and sounded like some of our favorite 90s grrrl bands such as Hole, L7, Sleater-Kinney and The Smears ... but with hints of shoegazing influences.

With a truncated 40-min set, the all-girls band concentrated on their latest album Wild Nights (Bella Union), and only playing two from their debut Girls Like Us album, including ‚ÄúWaiting for the End‚Äù and title track. The ‚ÄúGirls Like Us‚Äù song actually medley to ‚ÄúGirls Just Want to Have Fun‚Äù (the Cyndi Lauper version).

Pins Setlist

Looking at their setlist, you can see they decided to move ‚ÄúTrouble‚Äù after ‚ÄúLuvU4Lyf‚Äù... probably for pacing reason.

Much like their previous headlining appearance at 7th Street Entry in June 2015, the band sounded incredibly well-rehearsed and polished... even recovering gracefully when a guitar string broke during the start of ‚ÄúDazed By You‚Äù.

They ended their set with The Misfits‚Äô ‚ÄúHybrid Moments‚Äù, but with a different girls‚Äô perspective as singer Faith Holgate sings, ‚Äúooh baby when you cry, your face is momentary.‚Äù

Singer/guitarist Billy Lunn of The Subways, also noted how cold it was by kicking off their show with ‚ÄúMy nipples could cut glass right now!‚Äù as they launched into ‚ÄúKalifornia.‚Äù

According to bassist (and constant firecracker) Charlotte Cooper, it‚Äôs been eight years since they were last seen in the USA. The trio needed to remind us how great they were, and the diehard fans that showed up at the show on Saturday waited a long time to finally see their favorite punk/rock band.

Lunn is growing a beard for the first time on tour, and was having a good time mocking/joking about their drummer Josh Morgan, ‚ÄúThey drink all the beers and sleep all day... and smells ‚Äòbutterly‚Äô.‚Äù Lunn ‚Äòdecided‚Äô to let Morgan play the 10-second intro to ‚ÄúDirty Muddy Paws.‚Äù

Lunn would often talk throughout their set, causing their set to go a little over time. He does confess that he needed to ‚Äòshut up‚Äô a few times, but fans loved hearing him explain some of the songs. For example, ‚ÄúWe Don't Need Money to Have a Good Time‚Äù was about one of his mates losing a job at ‚Äòan underpants factory.‚Äô

Subways Setlist

The real highlight was their encore.... technically, they never left the stage. They dedicated ‚ÄúParty‚Äù to Prince, and pretty much stuck to their setlist up until ‚ÄúAlright‚Äù, which was done per a fan‚Äôs request. This was followed by another request, for ‚ÄúJust Like Jude‚Äù, but unfortunately after two verses, Lunn had actually forgotten the lyrics and chords and had to stop. It was a good effort, especially for a last-minute impromptu request.

We also found out that Lunn had not had a drink in two years, as he politely declined a drink that fans bought the band. That was perfectly fine, as the ‚Äòdrummer species‚Äô Josh Morgan drank Lunn‚Äôs shots without any hesitations.

Of course, The Subways ended on a high note, playing fan-favorite ‚ÄúRock & Roll Queen,‚Äù cause the entire crowd to sing back its catchy lyrics.

Vu and Langen talked about legendary music icon Prince‚Äôs final days and post-death celebrations.
Prince‚Äôs Final Time Line
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When news of Prince‚Äôs untimely death went viral at around noon on Thursday (April 21st), it hit everyone like a ton of bricks. First Avenue immediately rushed to announce a special Prince dance party. Then, hours later, in cooperation with The Current and the City of Minneapolis, they organized what we know as the Prince Block Party. The entire block between Hennepin and 1st Avenue was blocked off by 5pm. The entire event was conceived, organized, executed within a matter of a few hours!
By 6pm, the block was filled with an estimated 8,000 fans. It was just simply incredible.

Prince‚Äôs Shrine

Fans were leaving flowers, balloons, photos, letters, shirts, etc., over at Prince‚Äôs star at First Avenue... which ultimately became a shrine to the late artist.

Chris Coleman (St Paul‚Äôs mayor) came on stage to talk about Prince, followed by blaring Prince music over the speakers by DJ Shannon Blowtorch.

Since it only took hours to announce the pop-up event, Tiny Deaths took the stage with her last-minute band (featuring drummer Kenyatta Jackson-Steele and singer Claire de Lune). Without any true soundcheck or prior practice, all the bands on the bill did a fairly good job covering some of Prince‚Äôs songs.

Dem Atlas

Other last-minute addition to the show was local Dem Atlas, followed by PaviElle, Sarah White, Cameron Kinghorn , Chastity Brown, and Lizzo (who said she flew into Minneapolis just to perform for us).

The Block Party ended at 11pm, and thousands of people tried to enter First Avenue‚Äôs mainroom - only to be turned away due to maximum occupancy.

DJs listed at the free Prince ‚ÄúAll Night Dance Party‚Äù were Mike 2600, DJ Jake Rudh, Espada, and Dudley D. They played Prince all night until the morning.

The Party was also extended to Friday and Saturday, and reports from people on the scene was that it was just as successful (selling out at capacity) as Thursday‚Äôs night.

Communion is an artist-led organization and record label, based out of the UK and New York, that is putting on shows and releasing albums by up and coming artists. They put on shows across the country (and the world) full
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Aidan Knight. Knight is touring in support of his new album Each Other (out now via Outside Music).
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The monthly Communion: Twin Cities show recently took place last Thursday, April 21st. This month‚Äôs Communion feature the typical odd mix of Melbourne‚Äôs Jakubi, Austin‚Äôs Walker Lukens, Chicago‚Äôs Cyn, and Canada‚Äôs Aidan Knight.

The Current‚Äôs Kelsey (displacing Jade who previously hosted all the Communion shows) served as DJ and MC for the event. Kelsey played nothing but Prince music, but eventually switched to her standard playlist (we‚Äôre assuming she eventually ran out of Prince songs).

To talk about the Communion show, we also have to talk about Prince, his death, and its aftermath. When news of Prince‚Äôs death went online at 10am, it spread like a viral wild fire. As a result, First Avenue announced a late night dance party in tribute to the beloved artist a little after midday... then realizing the massive interest - they quickly announce a block party. The whole show event was organized within hours, and by 5pm, the roads were blocked by the city and fans started to fill up the area.

If you were there, you know that the Prince block party was completely packed ... thus unintentionally blocking the entrances to First Avenue and its little sibling, 7th Street Entry.

First Avenue thought by moving the Communion show to a later time at 10pm (originally listed at 7pm as noted by the show poster) would alleviate some of the congestions - it did not. If you really wanted to see the Communion show, you really had to push and fight your way through a sea of people - just to make it to the door.

Aidan Knight

Speaking of difficulties in attending the show, the experience was probably similar to Aidan Knight‚Äôs difficulties in obtaining a work VISA for his tour in the USA... but everything seemed to work out in the end.

Knight took the stage with his full band: Julia on keys, Ryan on bass, Will on guitars/horns, and Oliver on drums at 10pm. The band played some tracks from his latest 2016 record Each Other.... although they ended their brief 30-min set with ‚ÄúYou Will See The Good In Everyone‚Äù taken from their Small Reveal album.

Cyn

Cyn was next. She did a good job announcing her song titles and what she went through when she wrote those songs. Some of the songs on her set included ‚ÄúThe Only Lo Lo Lo‚Äù (dedicated to Prince), ‚ÄúPower‚Äù (about taking back the power from people ‚Äúpissing you off‚Äù), her single ‚ÄúSomething‚Äù, and her set closer ‚ÄúSo Bad‚Äù.

Although ‚ÄúTake‚Äù was announced as a cover song by Khai, I feel it‚Äôs also Cyn‚Äôs song because she wrote the lyrics.

Unfortunately, during some of her slower/quieter song, the constant noises from the block party outside (and also sound were bleeding in from First Avenue‚Äôs mainroom), was a little distracting. It was, perhaps, the wrong venue for her.

Walker Lukens

Walker Lukens and his band The Side Arms, feat. Zac Catanzaro, Mckenzie Griffin, Grant Himmler, and Kyle Vonderau, was a lot of fun, thanks to Lukens‚Äô high energy performance (particularly on ‚ÄúJacket On Ya Shoulders‚Äù).

Apparently, according to Lukens, this was his first time in Minnesota and, of course, on the tragic eve of Prince‚Äôs death.

Lukens and company paid their respect by playing a last-minute cover of Prince‚Äôs ‚ÄúKiss‚Äù in falsetto, of course. The cover was actually pretty good, despite Lukens apologizing in advance for any mistakes (if there were flaws, I don‚Äôt think anyone cared).

Melbourne-based Jakubi closed out the show, starting their set way-late at 12:30am. The family bands, composed of two brothers, two cousins and one friend, featured: singer/keys/talk box Jerome, guitarist Robert, drummer Jesse, guitarist Addam, and bassist/moog Jacob.

Although they haven‚Äôt officially released any music in the USA, Jakubi is touring just on the strength of their millions of streams from Soundcloud and YouTube for various singles, thanks to taste-makers such as Perez Hilton and Australia‚Äôs television show ‚ÄúHighway Patrol‚Äù.

They kicked off their set with a funky, guitary version of ‚ÄúHoliday‚Äù... but saving their biggest hit song ‚ÄúCouch Potato‚Äù to the end. ‚ÄúCouch Potato‚Äù was incredibly well-received from the fans, based on the loud feedback and dancing.

The next Communion: Twin Cities show will take place next month, May 19th, with Basecamp, Kiev, and Blue Healer. These Communion shows are a great way of checking out upcoming, rising bands. Hopefully, next month, you won‚Äôt have any problems getting inside the venue.

Before the headliner, local trio Catbath opened with a 40 min. set of revved up songs, culled mostly from their debut EP, Bathtime. Travis Franklin, Crystal Stockert, and Kristin Kosieracki
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The moment winter wheezes its final breath and spring gives way to summer, I‚Äôve got precisely THREE things on my mind: sitting on a sun-drenched porch drinking adult beverages, road trips and one of Portland‚Äôs finest, The Thermals (I also think about Tom Petty, too, but that‚Äôs a story for another time). The Thermals‚Äô effervescent anthems and delightfully subversive lyrics serve as an excellent soundtrack for transitions, personal and seasonal. If you are simply shooting the sh*t or going through the sh*t, they‚Äôre the band for you. The Thermals recently compiled their playlist Sounds of Spring, via Spotify, and We Disappear, their seventh studio album and their second on Saddle Creek, and dropped by the Turf Club Tuesday night to play some tunes and accept several marriage proposals (it happens more often than you‚Äôd think!)

Catbath

Supporting the Thermals that night was one of my favorite local acts Catbath, originally a trio who have expanded into a foursome: guitarist Travis Franklin, bassist Kristin Kosieracki, drummer Crystal Stockert and dark-haired mystery guy on guitar. I last saw Catbath when they opened for the Coathangers in September, one of their final shows before they went on a mini-hiatus. But February saw their epic return with several gigs throughout the Twin Cities including an Entry show with Skating Polly and fellow scorchers Cherry Cola and Bruise Violet in March. The band tore through a great set of grunge-flecked surf-pop (check out their debut featuring the greatest album cover known to humankind, It‚Äôs Bathtime), a sound my friend rightly compared to the severely underappreciated Imperial Teen.

Summer Cannibals

The blistering noise-pop of Portland brethren and Thermals pals, Summer Cannibals, came next to punch holes in our faces and light fires under our asses. Guitarist/vocalist Jessica Boudreaux, drummer Devon Shirley, bassist Jenny Logan and newly minted guitarist Jen sweated and shredded through an hour set spilling over with gems from their first two records as well as the soon-to-be-released Full of It (out May 27th on Kill Rock Stars). Armed with songs like the face-melter ‚ÄúFull of It‚Äù and hooky, fuzzed-out ‚ÄúSay My Name,‚Äù Summer Cannibals had absolutely no trouble stirring up the crowd. Boudreaux mentioned that it was the band‚Äôs fourth appearance in the Twin Cities and I anticipate many, many more visits from these fab four.

To my delight, Boudreaux joined The Thermals on stage for their performance allowing lead singer/guitarist Hutch Harris to roam the stage, hop off it from time to time and really interact with fans. Harris was hugely entertaining to watch, gesturing wildly, eyes bulging out of his head as he spit out words that were spit right back at him from the excited, churning mass. Before playing a note, though, the band shared a shot and cheered the openers, the audience and the venue, with bassist Kathy Foster exclaiming, ‚ÄúThis place rules!‚Äù The Thermal‚Äôs brutal masterpiece The Body, The Blood, The Machine is celebrating ten years of existence this year and every song on that album made an appearance on the setlist. Sprinkled in were tracks from We Disappear like ‚ÄúHey You‚Äù and the catchy heartbreaker ‚ÄúThinking of You,‚Äù ‚ÄúNow We Can See‚Äù from the 2009 album of the same name and one of my favorites ‚ÄúBorn to Kill,‚Äù from 2013‚Äôs excellent Desperate Ground. It‚Äôs not hard to love this band; fans expressed their affection openly and frequently over the course of the hour and a half show and were greeted with equally smitten responses from Harris, Foster and drummer Westin Glass. When one fan yelled out, ‚ÄúWill you marry me?‚Äù Harris enthusiastically responded, ‚ÄúYES!‚Äù and then asked if there was anyone present who could perform the nuptials. After receiving several confirmations, Harris joked, ‚ÄúI guess we‚Äôre getting married by 7 people!‚Äù

The Thermals and Summer Cannibals are on tour through the end of May. Go buy We Disappear as it was made to play in your car stereo while you're driving around town. Also, I recommend following the Thermals on Facebook and Twitter. Not only will you stay updated on the band‚Äôs whereabouts, but Hutch is a hoot, making hilarious references to 90s pop culture and his love marijuana (it‚Äôs legal in Oregon, ya know!)

I had to explain the story behind Negativland to a friend recently, when I discovered the original U2 single in a CD collection. I told her that it was quite rare
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You have all heard that Prince is dead. TMZ broke the story at 10am this morning, but I didn‚Äôt learn of his passing until noon. I just couldn‚Äôt believe it.

There were signs of illness last Friday when Prince had to make an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, and taken to the hospital. He downplayed his illness by appearing on stage at Paisley Park‚Äôs dance party on Saturday... ensuring fans that he was well. He is quoted as saying, ‚ÄúWait a few days before you waste any prayers.‚Äù

Today has been pretty insane. It rained all day, as if the sky was weeping purple tears. There are also no shortage of tributes to Prince. Everywhere I went (especially in Minneapolis), there were digital billboards showing purple, website turning icons to purple, radio stations playing Prince all day, and, especially in Minneapolis, there will be an all-night Prince block party by First Avenue.

Also, not to overshadow other celebrities‚Äô passing, but WWE‚Äôs Chyna and Negativland founder Richard Lyons (aka Pastor Dick) both died this week.

Lyons lost his battle with cancer on April 19th. To this day, I still have that rare U2 single that Negativland released (read all about it here).

The band defended their music as fair use (and I feel they are in the right), but record label Island Records (and Casey Kasem) would disagreed... so it is actually pretty hard to come by the original CD single.

Liverpool born, London-based L√•psley is on a USA tour (after Coachella, of course) in support of her debut album Long Way Home, via XL Recordings.

The rising producer, songwriter, singer has been on everyone‚Äôs radar, including Stereogum and Complex describing her as ‚Äúone of music‚Äôs most promising new artists.‚Äù Of course, that also meant that her appearance at the upcoming 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis is sold out.

Minneapolis-bred, LA-based producer and vocalist, Katy Morley (aka Morly, not to be confused with Morley) to open the show.

Polish black/death metal band Behemoth will be headlining Mill City Nights in Minneapolis next Saturday, April 30th. Considered one of the leader of Polish extreme metal underground, thanks to their early beginning in the 90s.

Danish composer and black metal talent Myrkur will open the show in support of her debut album M (Relapse Records). Her music is described as lush... and brutal, combing black metal with Nordic folk music and classical instrumentation.

NOTE: Because the Icehouse is a business, their full concert shows are often after business hours - so please note show time of 11pm. Thankfully this is on a Saturday and hopefully you aren‚Äôt working on Sunday morning.

With the release of their fourth studio album Into the Wide (Dualtone Records), Delta Spirit are currently in the middle of their US tour. The record is the band's highest charting record to date on Billboard's Top 200, debuting at #18 in the
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The headliner of the show Tuesday night at the 7th Street Entry, in Minneapolis, was Matthew Logan Vasquez, singer of Delta Spirit.

Matthew had a way of making you feel comfortable. He was nothing short of a giant goofball on stage and that really added to the reasons why I completely fell in love with his music last night. He wasn't afraid to make a complete fool of himself or the crowd. When he first took the stage, he spent a good couple of minutes just making weird noises into the microphone and waiting for the crowd to reciprocate. As the crowd would make weird noises back, he just got louder and the noises got a bit more out there. This, along with many of the other things he did, may not sound that exciting when written down, but if you were there, you would get it. It made everyone in the room instantly comfortable and that made the show a million times more enjoyable.

As mentioned, Matthew is the lead singer for the indie rock group Delta Spirit. These guys apparently have a huge following as far as I could tell by the multiple Delta Spirit T-shirts in the crowd. At first I was a little surprised but as soon as he started singing, I understood. Matthew has a very distinctive voice but his music does not have a distinctive style and that made me falling head over heels for this guy. His voice was smooth and had a lot of emotion behind it but at the same time, it felt like good, old fashioned rock n roll.

Matthew played a couple Delta Spirit songs and a couple solo songs. He played a couple with the band and a couple by himself. Regardless of how slow or quiet the song was, there was more than enough energy to keep me interested in what was going on. Apparently, there were a couple people who just couldn't pay attention and were immediately called out by Matthew. There was a gathering of girls who were standing by the stage and talking constantly. Before playing another solo song, Matthew nicely pointed the girls towards the exit sign so they would stop annoying him and the crowd. He sweetly serenaded the group as they walked towards the red exit sign and left the venue altogether.

Some of his songs were super upbeat and had a very prominent rockabilly feel to them. Matthew explained that the first concert he ever went to was The Old 97's opening up for Reverend Horton Heat. It was a life changing experience for him and that was made clear in the influence it had on his music and writing style. Each song had a story behind it and that just added to the comfortability you felt at this show. With the way he told each story, you almost felt as if you were just sitting around with a good friend shooting the shit only that good friend happened to have an amazing voice and great songwriting abilities.

Opening the show was Reverend Baron who was also on stage with Matthew as a bassist. For the opening set, it was just Reverend Baron (born Danny Garcia), a microphone, and his guitar. His voice was sweet and soft just like the music he was singing. At first, I was a bit frustrated because I wanted something upbeat but a few songs in and Danny had me completely hooked.

Reverend Baron told stories through his lyrics. Each song had a story behind it and each story was full of heart much like the voice singing it. Although it was much calmer than the music that was to come, it was just as beautiful as Matthew Logan Vazquez's music and ended up being a perfect opener.

Matthew Logan Vasquez‚Äôs Solicitor Returns is out now on No Label Records.

Folkster duo The Lowest Pair (Kendl Winter and Palmer T. Lee) is headlining the Cedar Cultural Center next Thursday, April 28th. The ‚Äòpair‚Äô will be releasing a pair of albums Uncertain As It Is Uneven and Fern Girl And Ice Man this year (2016) on Team Love Records.

Last year, they also released a pair of albums, including The Sacred Heart Sessions and I Reckon I‚Äôm Fixin‚Äô On Kickin‚Äô Round to Pick a Little, Volume 1.

We loveDeltron 3030, the supergroup featuring Del the Funky Homosapien on lead vocals and lyricsmaster. Of course, Del already has a built-in fanbase, and his upcoming ‚Äú‚ÄòIller Than Most‚Äù show next Friday, April 29th, is sold out.

Frightened Rabbit is back in Minneapolis next Wednesday, April 27th, touring in support of Painting of a Panic Attack. The fifth studio album came out April 8th, via Atlantic Records.

We last saw the Scottish band in at the Varsity in 2013 and noted, ‚ÄúVocalist Scott Hutchinson waxed poetic about his previous trips to Minneapolis between songs- getting stranded in town in snowstorms, drinking across the street at the college bar, and in general how well the Upper Midwest audiences have embraced the band from the very beginning; this proven by the Varsity show being the first sellout of the current tour.‚Äù

New York‚Äôs Caveman, fresh off their SXSW appearance, is excited to announce that they‚Äôve signed on to do a 24-date North American tour with Frightened Rabbit. The band will be playing some tracks off their upcoming album Otero War.

We previously saw Caveman in 2013 and wrote, ‚Äú... singer/guitarist Matthew Iwanusa... Donning a Hawaiian shirt and gaudy gold chain, he seemed extra exuberant to be playing in Minneapolis. The last time they played here, back in March, he seemed a little too over-exuberant (read: extremely drunk) and the show suffered as a result. This time, they were focused, yet enjoying their time on stage.‚Äù

We also saw Caveman in Los Angeles and said, ‚ÄúAh, Caveman. What a thrill to see them again! These dapper guys sauntered onstage like they owned the place. The lead singer Matthew seems to be a pro at casually muttering humorous things throughout the set, and it was drummer Stefan ºs birthday so they were all joking around and poking fun at him.‚Äù

Sun Club didn‚Äôt just open the show, they took a mallet and bashed their way in. Their set was weird, wild and wonderful - as if they were all hooked up to electrodes that caused violent convulsions
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Sun Club just started their first headline tour across the Midwest this month. The band will be playing tracks from their debut album The Dongo Durango (ATO Records).

We previously saw the Baltimore band with the Districts in 2015 (and also with Alvvays in 2014) and said, ‚ÄúSun Club (not to be confused with Netherland's The Sunclub) came on stage to Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights," ready to violently and spastically destroy the dance floor. As we have previously written, the band's music styling is both "violent convulsions" and "sexy dancing."‚Äù

Melbourne‚Äôs Courtney Barnett has booked a double night at First Avenue next week: April 26th and 27th at First Avenue.

Just a recap, we‚Äôve been following Barnett since December 2013, calling her EP ‚ÄúIt was love at first listen for me and Courtney Barnett. That first song was ‚ÄúAvant Gardening,‚Äù her irresistibly languid tale of suffering a panic attack while gardening in an Australian heat wave.‚Äù

Since releasing her debut LP Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (Mom + Pop Music) in March 2015, racked up eight ARIA Award nominations, and winning four trophies: Best Female Artist, Breakthrough Artist, Best Independent Release, and Best Cover Artist.

Nashville, by the way of Rosemount, Minnesota, Bully (aka Alicia Bognanno) will open the two shows.